Spain'S Economy Grew By - 18.5% In The Second Quarter, Making It The Worst Recession Country In The EU

El PA í s reported that Spain was facing the worst economic recession since the Civil War: economic growth from April to June was - 18.5% compared with the first quarter and - 22.1% compared with the same period in 2019, according to the data released by Spain's National Bureau of Statistics (INE) on July 31, 2020.

According to Eurostat data, the economic growth of other EU countries in the same period was - 10.1% in Germany, - 12.4% in Italy, - 13.8% in France, - 14.1% in Portugal and - 11.9% in the European Union.

In addition to the statistics of ine, the analysis of financial and economic institutions in western countries shows that the economic growth of western countries in the second quarter is lower than the average value of EU. The independent agency for budget supervision (airef) estimates economic growth of - 20%, the Central Bank of West China estimates economic growth of - 16% - 21%, and the western funcas Savings Fund estimates - 18%; and BBVA research estimates the economic growth of western countries in the first half of 2020 as - 22%.

The recession in western countries is not just a structural problem. Although tourism accounts for 12% of the PIB in western countries, its decline is far greater than that in Italy or Portugal, which are similar in size. The decline of western countries was mainly due to the strict confiminamiento measures and the lengthy epidemic situation of covid-19. Moreover, the closure of western countries was slower than that of Germany and other countries. If it was carried out in advance, some economic activities might be saved. According to ine data, the growth rate of business, accommodation and transportation industry was - 40% in the second quarter, and - 33.9% in the arts and entertainment industry. However, after the division was released, the decline of the above-mentioned industries slowed down slightly, but the growth of household consumption in the second quarter was still - 21.2%.

Investment in western countries also faced a record low, falling sharply to - 22.3% and investment in housing and machinery and equipment - 25%. Construction industry - 29.9%, industry - 23.8%, service industry - 22%, only agriculture grew by 7.4%. In the second quarter, imports grew by - 28.8% and exports - 33.5% in the second quarter. In addition, the epidemic also affected the number of working hours in the labor market. The average working hours decreased by 21.4%, 16.4% compared with the first quarter, and the annual effective working hours decreased by 20.6% to 24.8%.

The Federation of Spanish entrepreneurs (ceoe) has called on the government to step up efforts to help enterprises out of economic difficulties, while the recovery may be delayed in the coming months as employers are affected by the increase in the minimum wage. Therefore, the government is also called upon to take concrete investment actions to help enterprises cope with the crisis.

At present, the economic recovery of the third country will be affected by the economic situation of the third country, namely, the economic recovery of the third country will still be affected by the economic situation of the western countries.